NCC Begs Airtel, Etisalat & Others To Be Fair On Calls, Data Charges

Nigeria Communications Commission (NCC) has charged telecommunication service providers to adhere to certain key performance indicators it has set for improved service delivery.

The zonal controller in Enugu State, Emilia Nwokoro, stated this at the third episode of this year’s Consumer Conversation Forum (CCF) in Anambra State.

According to her, NCC has set more parameters in dealing with service issues, particularly with respect to call drop rates, call completion rates, data services, charges and other poor network quality-related issues.

Nwokoro pointed out that last May, NCC directed service providers to desist from forceful/automatic renewal of data services and activation/subscription to data and value-added services without prior consent of subscribers in form of a clear request by a subscriber via short message service (SMS), Unstructured Supplementary Service Data (USSD) or e-mail.

She added that NCC, to protect consumers from the menace of unsolicited text messages/calls, directed all mobile network operators to dedicate a short code ‘2442’ to enable consumers make informed decision on what messages they wish to receive.“The 2442 ‘Do-Not-Disturb’ short code is activated for consumers who wish to stop unsolicited text messages and voice calls.

“Sending ‘STOP’ to 2442 would activate the full ‘Do Not Disturb’ service that would prevent any unsolicited text message, while sending ‘HELP’ to 2442 would send a list of codes that would allow a customer make an informed choice on the category of message to receive. Twenty-four hours has been allowed for the consumer’s specific choice to become effective,” she noted.